Writer/Director Kevin Smith began his View Askewniverse in 1994 with his breakout hit CLERKS. The film tells the story of a couple of slackers working dead-end jobs in New Jersey in the 1990s and the conversations and misadventures they dabble in along the way. The film paved the way for countless stories, and so far nine films by Smith have rounded out its canon, along with several animated adventures and more in the pages of comic books. Before Dante and Randall ever sat around the Quik Stop and chatted about JAWS, STAR WARS, or even NAVY SEALS, young Kevin Smith was a New Jersey native soaking up inspiration on the silver screen at his local movie theater, the Atlantic Highlands Cinema. Flash forward to today and he owns that theater, rebranded as the Smodcastle, where he showcases new releases, repertory classics, film festivals, and even special screenings of “Movies With Kev,” where he screens a classic and participates in a Q&A following the screening.
Finally the formative experiences of young Kev are getting their own film treatment, with Kevin Smith’s newest release, THE 4:30 MOVIE, premiering tomorrow in cinemas around the country. The film, not set within the View Askewniverse, tells the story of a young man named Brian David, a not-even-thinly-veiled stand-in for Kevin Smith, played by Austin Zajur, who one day in the late spring of 1986 asks his crush Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong) to meet him at the movies. This is much to the chagrin of his two best friends, Burny and Belly, (Nicholas Cirillo and Reed Northrup, respectively) who’ve planned their day around buying a ticket for an innocuous FLASH GORDON rip-off only to bounce around the theater to see R-rated sex comedies and horror films. David now has to appease his friends, impress the girl, and not run afoul of the theater’s power-mad manager, Mike (Ken Jeong). What follows is a by-the-numbers buddy comedy coming-of-age romp that is as much a product of the time as it is a recollection of it.
The cameos come fast and furious, and the movies-within-the-movie are hilariously plausible for nostalgia-hounds who’ve shared Smith’s childhood years. Creating the film with a core of three rather than a duo (as CLERKS (II & III) or JAY & SILENT BOB (STRIKE BACK, REBOOT)) allows for deeper conversation and occasional reason within the young boys’ dynamic. All the young leads bring something special to the proceedings, with Zajur’s intimate knowledge of the source character, Cirillo’s big-Billy-from-STRANGER-THINGS-energy, Northrup’s Robert-Englund-doppelgänger innocence, and Agudong’s Diane-Franklin-lovability. It’s a perfect recreation of a time when the only thing that mattered was what came after the previews or following summer break. Cold War fears were prevalent, and tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed, so many were more focused on living the lives they were given, even if that was done so vicariously through the screen.
I had the chance to chat with the young cast for a brief moment, so we went right into the particulars of their performances and what they thought their characters might have grown into in the heyday nineties of the 20th century.
Eric McClanahan - So let’s start right off with Austin Zajur. You have known Kevin Smith for several years now, and the character of Brian David is technically fictional, but we all know it’s Kevin. What was your feeling embodying that character? Were you delighted or more nervous?
Austin Zajur - I was terrified the weeks before filming because I’m a very indecisive ADHD person and I would ask him constantly “How do you want me to do this? Do you want me to throw on a tad little Jersey accent? Do you want me to hit jokes the way you do? Do the whole “Heeey”? What do you - how do you want me to do this?” And he just, I don’t know if he basically just didn’t want to just tell me to do a younger Kevin or just exactly what his approach was, but honestly it was smart, because he just sent me a bunch of his old podcast interviews of him and Scott Mosier listening to his old tape recordings from 1989, which I think he started doing after he saw SAY ANYTHING, and that gave me a really good grasp. But he was super trusting - all he said was “You’re going to kill it, just trust yourself” constantly. It was pretty terrifying. Because on CLERKS III he was super-specific with everybody but on this movie he was just so open to letting us really just find out what was happening in the moment with each other, not trying to force something or have a line be said a certain way. Unless he really wanted that, which only happened a couple of times. I feel like. He trusted that we had developed all of these characters from our own authentic, truthful place, and I think he just let us let it rip.
EM - Now Siena, your character Melody is, throughout the course of the film, subject to a lot of objectification, and therefor by proxy, as are you. How did you approach your performance of Melody as her own character rather than through the guise of all the others and what was your feelings about that objectification on a scale of revulsion to flattery?
Siena Agudong - Like, personally? How was I affected? Okay, well I’ll talk about the Melody part first. I think Melody, something I like about her, is she’s very confident. So I think regardless of what the boys were saying, though obviously she could hear it, I think she’s set on herself and she knows what she wants. But I remember one moment in particular, it’s the fight between the boys in the alley, and I won’t say too much, you need to watch the movie, but one refers to her as an “Ewok-looking bitch” and I thought it was hilarious. Honestly, it was cracking me up. I would come watch a scene and things would be thrown out and I totally forgot about some of those lines. I thought it was funny, as much as what Kevin could originally come up with. I think originally my character was supposed to be super tall - I’m 5’2” so they changed it. [laughs]
EM - Flipped the whole script.
Siena Agudong - Changed everything, yeah!
EM - So, speaking of the fight, it’s a great scene where Reed, your character Belly gets to really step up and explore the dynamic of a trio at the heart of the film rather than a duo by giving one the opportunity to be that voice of reason. Tell me about approaching that scene and how it felt to be that anchor.
Reed Northrup - Yeah, that’s a great question. Thank you. I feel like Belly is a great example of the power of listening. I think too often people are speaking over each other and not really being present and it becomes so clear in that moment that he has been listening to everything. And just because he doesn’t scream his opinions from the rooftops every second doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have one. I think there’s real power in being a silent mediator. I wonder what the boys would do had he not been there. Maybe another punch or two would’ve been thrown, so I’m glad he steps in to take care of them.
EM - It’s a great scene.
Reed Northrup - Thank you.
EM - Speaking of great scenes, Nicholas you have an amazing scene at the beginning of the third act with Sam Richardson, who is just one of the most entertaining actors working today. It really reminded me of the Stan Lee scene in MALLRATS. How did you approach this scene and what sort of research did you do to anchor yourself in that time period?
Nicholas Cirillo - Specifically for that one, because I didn’t grow up a big fan of WWE type stuff, specifically the 80s generation, that era, so I had a great time going back and watching some of the greatest theatrics, I discovered. Some of the finest thespians-slash-athletes that you could possibly imagine are from that era. So, I just tried to put myself in the position of somebody that was meeting their sports idol, that Michael-Jordan type of person, that was larger than life and then at the same time kind of dialing it back, because, not to spoil it, but he reveals he’s just a regular sort of guy, so it was a way of approaching it like meeting the human behind the Wizard of Oz, in a way.
EM - The Man Behind the Curtain. Alright, we have a little time left so I’d like to give each of you an opportunity to tell me what you think your character is doing after the film. The film is set in 1986 so where do you see your character going? I think we pretty much know what’s going to happen with Brian but we also have to remember that it’s a very different time from the one that you as actors and people have grown into, so Austin - what is Brian doing, say, ten years after the close of this film?
Austin Zajur - I think he has a job as a writer at Saturday Night Live and is trying to write his first movie about his New Jersey town.
EM - Nicholas, where is Burny in ten years?
Nicholas Cirillo - Straight to fucking jail. Straight to jail. [everybody laughs]
EM - That’s what I had on my Bingo card!
Nicholas Cirillo - If there’s any justice in this world it’s what should happen to Burny, so if I have any say in what should happen to Burny, lock that son of a bitch up. Get him off the streets.
EM - Okay, Reed, where is Belly in ten years?
Reed Northrup - Now I’m thinking he’s like your parole officer or something. But I was going to say perhaps he opens like a diner or like a small-town kind of restaurant in the area and he’s selling his mother’s recipes, including the Bacon with Mayonnaise.
Nicholas Cirillo - Belly’s BLT!
EM - And Siena, where is Melody in ten years?
Siena Agudong - I think she’s killing it as a (college or university) Dean. Taking calls from Brian David on her breaks.
EM - Thank you all for your time. The movie is fantastic, comes out September 13th, and I wish you all the best and thank you so much!
THE 4:30 MOVIE comes out tomorrow in theaters nationwide. The extended cast includes Logic, Method Man, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rachel Dratch, Jason Lee, Kate Micucci, Rosario Dawson, Adam Pally, Justin Long, Jason Biggs, Harley Quinn Smith, Diedrich Bader, Genesis Rodriguez, and Sam Richardson. If you want a hilarious comedy that reminds you why you love movies in the first place, this movie was made for you. And if the adventures on screen make you long to relive some of your own, you can visit the Smodcastle in the Atlantic Highlands of New Jersey and maybe even see a movie with Kevin! Check out their events schedule at https://www.smodcastlecinemas.com/ and stand in the midst of cinematic history.
On a personal note, as a New Jersey resident, I did attend a Movies With Kev screening last year and saw COMING TO AMERICA on a random Monday in August. Kevin introduced the film and said “Afterwards we’ll talk about it because I love answering questions about movies I didn’t make.” The programming included time-appropriate trailers, and then Kevin did come back after the credits rolled and answered questions for a good long while. On the way out was a sign up sheet to be an extra in a movie that would be filming in the very location in the coming months, and that movie is in fact THE 4:30 MOVIE. If you look very closely in any of the scenes… you won’t see me. My friend and I did sign up but we never heard from anyone, though that doesn’t diminish my opinion of the film in the slightest. (In fact, if I were in the movie, I’d probably like it less.)
Until next time, take care!
-McEric, aka Eric McClanahan-
